


My Family

by AutisticWriter



Series: Autistic Headcanons [53]
Category: Doctor Who
Genre: ADHD Fourth Doctor, Ableism, Attempt at Humor, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Autism, Autism Spectrum, Autistic Doctor, Autistic Fourth Doctor, Bickering, Essays, Family, Family Fluff, Fluff, Homework, Multi, Neurodiversity, Nonbinary Character, One Shot, Parent AU, Parenthood, Polyamory, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-20
Packaged: 2018-11-16 14:36:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11254962
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AutisticWriter/pseuds/AutisticWriter
Summary: Harry, Sarah and the Doctor decide to proofread Susan’s homework before she takes it into school. It’s just as well that they do.





	My Family

My name is Susan Sullivan-Smith, and I am eight years old. I live with my Mum, my Dad and my Par, and I love them very much.

_I wouldn’t mention me, Susan. Your teacher’s brain won’t be able to cope with you having three parents. Just talk about Mum and Dad._

**Your Par’s right, darling. This isn’t a very accepting time period, and I don’t think your teacher will like it.**

 

My Mum is called Sarah Jane, my Dad is called Harry, and my Par is called the Doctor.

_If you have to mention me, just make up a human name for me. That way, it won’t raise as many eyebrows._

How about Harry? That’s a good name.

_We’re trying to make it_ less _confusing, Harry._

I was adopted when I was five. I’ve never met my birth parents and I don’t want to meet them. Mum, Dad and Par are my real parents and I don’t need to meet anyone else. I also hate it when people call my birth parents my real parents, because my real parents are the ones I live with. I don’t need any more parents. I already have three.

Thanks, old thing. That’s lovely.

_What a nice thing to write. And it annoys me when they say that too, Susan._

**Thank you, darling.**

 

We live in a detached house in north London with three floors and a big garden. My bedroom is on the second floor and I can see all the way to the trees at the bottom of the garden when I look out of my window. It looks very pretty when the sun comes up in the morning.

This bit’s perfect.

 

But we don’t always live there. In the school holidays, we go into the TARDIS and go travelling through space and time for a few weeks. We have lots of fun, but we always get back to start school again.

_Just cut this bit completely. She’ll either think you’re lying and tell you off, or she’ll come here and start hassling us._

Why don’t you say that we’ve been on holiday, old thing? That’s sort of true, and it won’t confuse your teacher.

_Good idea, Harry. Do that instead._

Mum is a journalist, Dad works as a doctor and I don’t really know what Par does.

_There’s a reason for that._

To be fair, I don’t know what he does either.

_Yes, and things are going to stay that way._

 

Par has two disabilities (autism and ADHD) and a mental illness called Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. They mean he acts differently to other people and he sometimes needs some time to himself when everything gets too loud and busy.

_I know this is hard to understand, Susan, but don’t mention my disabilities. Your teacher will fall for the unpleasant myth of this time period that disabled people are unfit to be parents, and it won’t end well._

**Par’s right. Your teacher might report us to the authorities and try to take you away from us. I know it’s unfair, but it’s safer not to mention it.**

And we also don’t want anyone to pry into why your Par has PTSD.

_No, we certainly don’t._

 

We don’t have any pets, but I would love to get a dog. But dogs make Dad sneeze and Mum says we travel too much and it wouldn’t be fair to leave the dog all of the time. Still, I would love to have a dog. My favourite would be a sausage dog, because they look so cute and their shape is funny and perfect. And they’re only little so they don’t take up too much space.

_This is starting to sound like an advert for getting a dachshund. I would love one too, Susan, but we’re not getting a dog._

I don’t have many other family members. Dad’s family don’t speak to him and I don’t know if Par has a family. We sometimes see Mum’s sister, but the rest of her family don’t speak to us. I didn’t understand because my friends all have four grandparents, but I don’t have any. But now I’m older I know it’s because Mum and Dad’s families don’t like our family. But I don’t know how Par’s family feel because I’ve never met them.

_Trust me, Susan, they wouldn’t like our family either._

Yes, that’s pretty much the only thing we have in common, isn’t it?

**You don’t have to explain this in so much detail, darling. You can just mention that you don’t see your extended family. Your teacher doesn’t need to know too much about this.**

 

But it doesn’t matter. My family might be weird and different to everyone else’s, but that isn’t a bad thing. I don’t need loads of grandparents to be happy, because me and Mum and Dad and Par are happy as we are, just the four of us. And that’s why I love my family.

**What a lovely thing to end on. That’s really sweet, darling.**

_Yes, we certainly are happy like this. We’re one small weird family, aren’t we?_

Emphasis on the weird.

_Exactly, Harry. Where would we be without the weirdness? We’d just be a boring normal family otherwise!_

Doctor, I was being sarcastic.

_Whatever. I’m glad you like our weird family the way it is, Susan._

Will you stop calling us weird, Doctor?

_No._

**Just ignore those two. Once you’ve removed the things we’ve written about, this’ll be perfect to hand in to your teacher. Well done, darling.**

Yes, well done, old thing.

_Good work, Susan. And thanks again for being proud of your weird family._

Doctor!


End file.
